Blogging about what I'm cooking. Not as much deep-fried stuff anymore, but hey, it's a catchy name.

Homemade Mayonnaise

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Cara (who gave me the healthy taco recipe, which I still make and tweak regularly) posted on Facebook that she had made homemade mayonnaise to go with grilled corn on the cob. I was intrigued, especially since corn is starting to show up at the farmers' market around here, so I gave it a try using some tips she gave me for the mayonnaise. I didn't pay close enough attention though, and my first two attempts were a disaster. The first one just never emulsified properly because I added the oil too fast, and the second one I used extra virgin olive oil for 100% of the oil, which had an overpowering olive flavor when it was done.

While I was waiting for it to be farmers' market day again, I looked at my cousin Coco's blog, which I really ought to check out more often. She has a ton of great healthy recipes, and her photography is amazing too. In one of her semi-recent posts, she had made homemade mayonnaise. Reading her post, I couldn't believe how easy it sounded if you use an immersion blender. I decided to give it a shot, and it was the fastest and easiest success ever. This recipe is for a basic mayonnaise, but you can add pretty much anything you want to it. I added one clove of roasted garlic, Cara has mentioned adding ancho chili pepper and replacing the lemon juice with the juice from a jar of hot peppers...the possibilities are endless.

Homemade Mayonnaise

Ingredients:

2 egg yolks

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

½ teaspoon kosher salt

⅛ teaspoon organic cane sugar

1¼ cup canola oil

¼cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. In a 2-cup measuring cup, combine ingredients in order listed.2. Plunge stick blender to the bottom of the measuring cup. Starting
with quick pulses and keeping the immersion blender at the bottom of the
cup, pulse until the mixture starts to emulsify. While pulsing, slowly
lift the blender toward the top of the mixture (but not out of it — it
will splatter everywhere), blending until all the oil is incorporated
into the mayonnaise.3. Leave at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours, then store in a glass
jar in refrigerator. Keeps for up to 1 week.

Notes:It seems wrong to leave it at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours, but there's a good reason for it: the acidity of the lemon juice will kill any possible lingering salmonella at room temperature, but not at refrigerator temperatures. Leaving it out removes the small risk from using raw eggs.